Lauda: Monza was sensational

Sebastian Vettel had tears in his eyes briefly on the podium after his second victory at Monza. He now has a 112-point lead on Fernando Alonso in the championship after Mark Webber's retirement. Niki Lauda: "This was a very special race for him. They didn't go out just to secure some points, which would have been the logical thing to do in view of their lead, but went out aggressively to win."

One particular manoeuvre by the 24-year-old showed that Red Bull were not simply marking time, according to TV pundit Lauda: "Overtaking Fernando Alonso on the grass proves their determination to win." – Vettel had emerged victorious in a thrilling scrap with the Spanish driver just after the safety car period and was then in a class of his own, securing his eighth victory in supreme fashion.

Mathematically speaking, Vettel could be crowned world champion at the next race in Singapore. Lauda: "This race was great because it was about winning, and not about the world championship, but my gut feeling is that he'll take the title in Japan. When exactly Sebastian Vettel becomes world champion, depends on how aggressive he is in future."

Lauda described the race as sensational not just because of Vettel. The fight between Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton was fine, in his opinion. After Schumacher's defensive manoeuvres, race stewards simply pointed out to Mercedes that he should be more careful in future. Lauda: "It was right on the borderline, the stewards didn't even get involved. That was an extremely hard-fought battle. The old man against the boy – just great."

Jenson Button was the best thing, though, according to the former world champion: "He squirted past the pair of them and didn't make a meal out of overtaking Schumacher, unlike Lewis."